Troubled Airplanes That Can't Fly Smoothly

The Wright Brothers are probably the best-known aircraft designers in history. They made many mistakes until 1903, when the first flight took place. Like them, countless other aviation enthusiasts and factories have had to face design mistakes and suffer the consequences. Looking back 120 years to the worst military and commercial aircraft designs in aviation history, we see that some very interesting platforms have been produced. I think it would be instructive for Turkish aviation to mention some of them in order to see that aviation does not always produce perfect products.

1) Great Workmanship May Not Always Bring Successful Results

In 1901, an American inventor and scientist named Samuel Pierpont Langley designed an amazing model airplane that flew more than a mile. After seeing the success of this design, he decided to build an electrically powered model of it into a real manned aircraft and thus go down in history as the first person to fly a manned platform. All the features of the design seemed to be in place. Of all the engines on the market, the 52-horsepower radial engine had the best power-to-weight ratio. So he decided to launch the aircraft equipped with this engine from a catapult and leave the rest to the radial engine. Despite two attempts, the plane launched from the catapult was not successful, and both planes sank in the waters of the Potomac River. Thus, the first manned airplane design based on a model airplane ended in failure before it could fly. 

2) Wright Brothers

The first powered airplane in history was developed in the USA by two brothers, Orville Wrigt and Wilbur Wright. All of the internal combustion engines available on the market in those days were very heavy and therefore not suitable for use in airplanes. With the help of a technician, the Wright Brothers managed to build a much lighter engine and started the construction of their first airplane.

The first flight was made on December 17, 1903. Thus, the Wright Flyer went down in history as "the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled and sustained flight with a pilot on board" and became the biggest breakthrough in aviation. This first flight was undoubtedly remembered for its effects for a long time, but the flight itself was very short. The airplane, which stayed in the air for 12 seconds on the first attempt, was able to stay in the air for 59 seconds on the last attempt made on the same day. Thus, the sky met the motorized airplane for the first time that day.

By the way, flying this first airplane was also very difficult. Indeed, despite all efforts, the Wright Flyer could only cover a distance of 852 feet in the air. On the same day, December 17, 1903, the day of the first flight, the Wright Flyer took off four times and the fourth flight was recorded as its last flight.

3) British Innovation for the Marksman in B.E.9 was not accepted

During the First World War, the British Royal Flying Corps developed an experimental reconnaissance aircraft called the B.E.9. The British came up with an innovation that widened the reconnaissance officer's field of view, allowing the gunner to fire over a wider area with a machine gun. But this arrangement backfired spectacularly. Although the gunner had a much better field of view, the new situation put the gunner at risk of injury. In the event of propeller or engine failure, it was almost impossible for the gunner, who had to sit in close proximity to this section, to escape unscathed. This handicap resulted in the aircraft being shelved.

4) The Italian Noviplano was a downright ugly freak of nature

In the 1920s, the Italian aircraft manufacturer Caproni built a passenger plane called the Ca 60 Noviplano. This passenger plane was intended to be capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean and carrying up to 100 passengers on journeys between the two continents. Unfortunately, the plane produced for this purpose was only able to make two flights. It was not enough to see any country in Europe, let alone fly over the Atlantic. On its second flight, it took off from Lake Maggiori in Italy and only made a flight of 180 feet before crashing into the water. In fact, the design of this airplane was astonishingly different. It was built as a triplane in a set of three in the community. The resulting airplane was a behemoth with a total of nine wings and eight engines. With such a cumbersome fuselage design, it seemed doomed to fail from the start.

5) Blackburn's Botha deemed 'worthless'

In the 1930s and 40s, Blackburn worked on a number of important designs. One of these was the Botha, a twin-engine torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. This aircraft had three glaring design flaws: First, the flight crew had poor visibility. Flying this plane, let alone reconnaissance, would have been considered an achievement in itself. The Botha was incredibly difficult to fly. As a matter of fact, there were many fatal accidents with this aircraft. Secondly, the plane had insufficient engine power. A total of four flight crews were needed to fly the plane safely. This added to the weight of the airplane and required more power. The last problem was the excessive number of crew members. It was possible to go on a flight without the fourth crew, but this meant accepting from the beginning that the aircraft could not fire torpedoes, that is, it could not be used for its intended purpose. As a result, this aircraft was considered a 'worthless' design and put aside before it could be of any use.

6) Bell FM-1 Airacuda

The Bell FM-1 Airacuda, manufactured by Bell Aircraft Corporation, was new to the scene in 1937. It had a futuristic look. Its interesting appearance was enough to hide the flaws of this aircraft at first. The Bell FM-1 Airacuda's engine and gun placement made it easier for gunners to fire on bombers. However, the fact that the aircraft's engines quickly overheated was seen as a major handicap. The rear propellers meant near death for the gunners during evasive maneuvers. Also, when the guns were fired, the smoke filled the interior, rendering the gunner unable to do his job.

7) Fairey Battle was a Bomb

Developed for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) in the mid-1930s and powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine, the Fairey Battle looked like a promising aircraft. However, the heavy, slow and limited range of this aircraft caused the RAF to face the opposite of its expectations. With the introduction of this cumbersome aircraft into combat, the Germans shot down nearly a hundred Battle aircraft within a week. The RAF was then forced to withdraw the Battle from service at the end of 1940. Many agreed that it was the most disappointing aircraft in the history of RAF service.

8) The LWS-6 Żubr was an Ugly Duckling

The LWS-6 Żubr was a twin-engine bomber produced in Poland before World War II. The aircraft never saw combat and was only used for training purposes. The faulty Żubr's landing gear, which folded back on contact with the ground during some landings, caused major problems for the crew. The Soviets captured four of these in flyable condition during their invasion of Poland and later used them in combat as liaison aircraft.

9) Brewster Buffalo was Overweight and Unbalanced

The Brewster Buffalo was the US Navy's first monoplane fighter. It was also used by the Finnish, Royal and Royal Australian Air Forces. The aircraft was in active service at the beginning of World War II, but by the end of the war it was considered obsolete. The Buffalo was extremely heavy, unstable and poorly maneuverable. Naturally, because of these characteristics, no one expected it to be able to compete with Japanese aircraft. It was also considered to have weak landing gear, which often collapsed during hard landings on the carrier. Some US Marine Corps pilots referred to the Buffalo as a "flying coffin".

10) Douglas TBD Devastator was a death trap

The Douglas TBD Devastator had a serious and fatal design flaw. The aircraft could only release its torpedo at a very low speed of 115 miles per hour, flying in a perfectly straight line, with no bank and at a constant altitude. This was seen as a factor that reduced mission effectiveness. In addition, Devastators were an easy target for enemy fighters. Indeed, during the Battle of Midway, the Devastator fleet suffered a major disaster. Of the 41 Devastator aircraft sent on missions, only six returned to base. This high rate of tragic loss was recorded as one of the greatest losses in the history of the US Navy.

(To be continue)